Efficacy of Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis and Repetitive Element Sequence-Based PCR in Typing of Salmonella Isolates from Assam, India

A total of 12 Salmonella isolates belonging to different serovars, viz., Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (n = 4), Salmonella enterica serovar Weltevreden (n = 4), Salmonella enterica serovar Newport (n = 1), Salmonella enterica serovar Litchifield (n = 1), and untypeable strains (n = 2) were isolated from 332 diarrheic fecal samples collected from animals, birds, and humans. Of the two molecular typing methods applied, viz., repetitive element sequence-based PCR (REP-PCR) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), PFGE could clearly differentiate the strains belonging to different serovars as well as differentiate between strains of the same serovar with respect to their source of isolation, whereas REP-PCR could not differentiate between strains of the same serovar. Thus, it can be suggested that PFGE is more useful and appropriate for molecular typing of Salmonella isolates during epidemiological investigations than REP-PCR.